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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259668">muscle memory</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ictus/pseuds/ictus'>ictus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Missing Scene, Rivalry, Unresolved Sexual Tension</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:35:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>652</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25259668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ictus/pseuds/ictus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>James is a bad habit Keith could never quite break.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James Griffin/Keith (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Little Black Dress Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>muscle memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/gifts">ThatScottishShipper</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Frankly, I'm still not over <a href="https://66.media.tumblr.com/70b2fc24db443d4ac74f6472ed295099/tumblr_pf6qf2Avc91xoa5yxo1_400.gifv">this look</a>.</p>
<p>Thank you to asuralucier for the beta!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re back.”</p>
<p>The voice rings out clear from across the hangar, and Keith doesn’t have to turn to know who it is. It’s tempting to ignore it, to square his shoulders and walk away, but Keith has never been one to turn down a challenge, particularly one that pokes at old wounds.</p>
<p>“I am,” Keith says, still not turning.</p>
<p>“They said you were dead.”</p>
<p>At this, Keith has to laugh, and when he finally turns his smile is bitter. “Sorry to disappoint.”</p>
<p>James Griffin <em>does</em> look disappointed, standing there with his helmet tucked under one arm, and a deep frown etched between his eyes. That look alone is enough to dredge up long-forgotten memories, enough to ignite a fire in the pit of Keith’s gut that’s familiar in all the ways he would prefer to forget.</p>
<p>“They also said that you’re the Black Paladin,” James says, spitting out the word <em>you’re</em> with an untold measure of derision, like he can’t believe Keith of all people could ever become a Paladin of Voltron. Keith Kogane, the kid with the second-hand uniform, and a laundry list of misdemeanours. Keith Kogane, the cadet who was always picked last for group activities, who spent summer break at the Garrison because he had no home to return to. Keith Kogane, the cadet who flunked out because he was too stubborn, too <em>undisciplined</em> to transform any of that raw talent into something useful.</p>
<p>Keith Kogane, the Black Paladin.  </p>
<p>“It’s true,” Keith says, his voice unwavering. He and James are of a height now, and it hits Keith that James can’t look down on him anymore, can’t tower over him like he used to.</p>
<p>But that doesn’t stop him from trying.</p>
<p>James takes one, two, three steps forward, and suddenly Keith has conceded ground, has let James back him into a corner. Keith’s breath catches as James leans in close, until there’s not even a hair’s breadth between them. They’re pressed together chest to chest, hip to hip, and it’s all Keith can do to stop the flood of memories that arise from the contact, things his body remembers even if his mind would prefer to forget.</p>
<p>But he can’t.</p>
<p>He can’t forget the feeling of James’s lips on his own, James’s teeth at his neck. He can’t forget the way James would hold him down, pressing their bodies together and rutting against Keith until he was begging to be touched. He can’t forget James’s mouth, hot and slick as he swallowed Keith down, taking him apart piece by piece until he was incoherent with pleasure and spilling down James’s throat. </p>
<p>It’s muscle memory, Keith thinks, the desire that burns through his body, even now. James is a bad habit Keith could never quite break, and even though he’s travelled to the edges of the galaxy, there are some constants that are universal, and this, it seems, is one of them.  </p>
<p>James’s mouth is just inches away from Keith’s, so close that they’re sharing the same breath, and Keith wonders which of them will be the first to break, the first to give into this violent and twisted thing that’s always existed between then.</p>
<p>It’s James who leans in first, and Keith tilts his head to receive the kiss as if on instinct, as if he’s hard-wired to respond to James in all of his contradictions. But at the exact moment that their lips almost touch, James pauses and says—</p>
<p>“Don’t fuck this up, Kogane.”</p>
<p>Keith blinks and a second later James is pushing back off the wall and turning his back on Keith, crossing the hangar with quick, measured strides. Keith sags against the wall and presses his fingers to his lips, the phantom touch of James’s mouth feeling all too real.</p>
<p>Keith stares at James’s retreating back until he disappears from view, and the moment he does, it’s as if James had never been there at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can also find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/scansionictus">twitter</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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